GCSC adjusts calendar to accommodate late start

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Any physics student at Greencastle High School should be able to recite Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion:

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

On Monday, the law was applied to school scheduling in Greencastle.

In delaying the start of school by one week as educators prepared for the combination of virtual and in-person learning, Greencastle Community Schools had to make up for the five missed days somewhere in the calendar.

After consulting with building administrators and the Greencastle Classroom Teachers Association, Supt. Jeff Gibboney made his proposal to the Greencastle School Board during its monthly meeting.

Teachers will now return from the holidays on Monday, Jan. 4 with students returning the following day, Tuesday, Jan. 5.

Additionally, the snow makeup days originally set for Monday, Feb. 15, Friday, March 19 and Friday, April 16 will now be at-home learning days.

Snow makeup days are not the necessity they once were, with schools having the ability to do at-home e-learning days when inclement weather strikes.

The changes get Greencastle back to the state-required 180 days of student instruction.

“We have to have those 180 days,” Gibboney said. “We didn’t want to add them on to the end of the school year and have to move graduation. This was the best format to add those days back in.”

At this time, the last student day is scheduled for Wednesday, May 26, with graduation slated for the evening of Friday, May 28.

The board unanimously approved the calendar request.

The calendar is not the only adjustment officials are making as they return to school, with Assistant Superintendent Jennifer French noting that COVID-19 has forced them to prepare for the possibility of all students having to learn virtually.

“We’ve been talking the last few months about how to get our kids here and the plan for what school would look like logistically,” French said. “We finally have them here and now we’re focused on the plan and being prepared for if we have to close down again so that we can operate as effectively as if the students were here.”

When schools closed in the spring, students moved to e-learning for the remainder of the school year. This was not ideal, as e-learning was only meant to be a short-term solution in weather-related scenarios or other emergencies.

In planning the return to school, officials went to great lengths to ensure that students who chose the virtual option to start the 2020-21 school year would have a program with rigor that mirrors a normal, in-person school day.

The same goal applies should on-campus students have to go to virtual learning due to an outbreak.

“We understand that we’re going to have to move forward in our curriculum and keep going,” French said, regarding any potential closure. “So those expectations are going to be set higher.”

Vital to this is that students participate on a daily basis, even if they are not physically in school.

“Our main expectation is that students will participate every day online,” French said.

She added that teachers will be available in such a situation, with flexible hours, and that supports will remain in place such as access to libraries, counseling services, special education, English language learners, speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy and Title I.

School officials are also in the process of setting up tutoring for both on-campus and virtual learners, with the ability to continue should instruction go all virtual.

“I feel like we have a very comprehensive plan,” French said. “This is a plan that addresses K-12 consistencies. There would be a lot more specific details that will come from each building that will be more individualized to that level. We’re trying to develop a guide that will help parents better plan.”

The plan remains a draft, with administrators still getting feedback from staff, but the idea is to have a plan available to parents once it is finalized.

In other business:

• Gibboney reported that some large summer projects are nearing completion.

The Greencastle Middle School floor is complete, with new bleachers only waiting on a few parts.

“We are going to have a really nice facility for our middle school students to use for quite some time,” Gibboney said.

Additionally, the air conditioner in the high school auxiliary gym has been fixed.

“That’s been great because we’ve had to rely heavily on some additional space for lunches, for some study hall or just to allow kids some additional room to spread out or if we have to combine classes,” Gibboney said.

• The board also approved several donations, including:

A water bottle filling station from an anonymous donor;

$1,250 from Edwards Royal Comfort to GHS athletics;

$1,199 from the Greencastle Football Parents Club to GHS athletics;

$1,000 from the Mary Allison Children’s Trust to Deer Meadow Primary;

$1,000 from the Mary Allison Children’s Trust to Ridpath Primary;

$500 from Hendricks Power to GCSC; and

$500 from Parke County REMC to GCSC.

• The board also approved a number of personnel items.

Retirement: Barbara Jessie as GHS special services teacher.

Resignations: Kara Jedele as GHS business and social studies teacher; Kierstan Kaufman as Tzouanakis fifth-grade teacher; Rodney Nodley as Tzouanakis head custodian; Deneen Earles and Tzouanakis instructional assistant; Kristene Stokes as Tzouanakis attendance secretary; Jamie Birkemeier as GMS instructional assistant; Donnette Williams as GMS cafeteria assistant and 21st Century Community Learning Center nutritionist; Ana Salcedo, Madeline Smith, Emma Houston, Leia Vires and Kristi Dunn, as 21st Century Community Learning Center instructors; Sophia Mosley and Ephraim Hale as 21st Century Community Learning Center instructional Assistants; Lindsey Fenwick, Bryan Harris and Randy Stewart as bus drivers; and Jennifer Hebert as long-term substitute teacher at Deer Meadow.

Hires: Julia Stevens as Tzouanakis fifth-grade teacher; Grace Timberman as long-term substitute second-grade teacher at Deer Meadow; Courtney Smith, Sharon Pitcock, Keegan Lammers, Ana Salcedo, Sophia Mosley and Leia Vires as 21st Century Community Learning Center instructors; Katherine Burke as GHS media assistant; Michelle Boller as GHS study hall instructional assistant; Isaiah Long as GHS custodian; Christina Jones as GHS/GMS nurse assistant; Sara Boucher as Tzouanakis/Deer Meadow/Ridpath nurse assistant; Mary Pristasch as GMS cafeteria assistant; Rachel Crosby as GMS in-school suspension instructional assistant; Connie Pierce as 21st Century Learning Center nutritionist; Troy Brown as Tzouanakis head custodian; Kathy Lewis as Tzouanakis noon aide; Kathy Brown and Bailey Stoltey as Deer Meadow noon aides; Jay Fortune as Ridpath noon aide; Stacy Wheeler as Ridpath media assistant.

Transfers: Beva Miller from Ridpath second-grade to Tzouanakis third-grade teacher; Kathy Sibbitt from Ridpath cafeteria assistant to GMS instructional assistant; Wanda Hutcheson from Tzouanakis to Ridpath instructional assistant; Angela Garl from short route to long route bus driver.

Leaves of absence: GMS art teacher Amy Robinson, intermittent FMLA; Deer Meadow second-grade teacher Stacy Allen, FMLA; Megan Tesmer from transportation center.

Substitutes: Esta Poulton and Brianna Shafer as substitute teachers; Amanda Marshall as long-term substitute pre-school teacher at Deer Meadow.

Extra-curricular activities: Tom Hamilton hired as GMS head football coach; Kaleb Comacho hired as GMS assistant football coach; Amanda Hernandez hired as GMS cheer coach; Nathan Aker hired as GHS assistant football coach; Jakob Foss and Simon Foss approved as GHS volunteer assistant boys’ soccer coaches; McKenzie Woodall and Macy Clark approved as GHS volunteer assistant volleyball coaches.

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